Tag Archives: India

During March 2015, LOkesh Ghai was commissioned by the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad to undertake an open elective project at the school. Star Peacock Aeroplane and Kites invited selected students to experience the craft of ‘Katab’ both as a traditional skill and a design concept.

For the elective LOkesh paired each student with a traditional ‘Katab’ artisan, (most had worked on the Katab: Not Only Money project) who taught the student how to make sketches by hand-stitching units of cloth. The workshop was an opportunity to enhance the students understanding of expressing everyday objects as simplified, abstract motifs whilst appreciating how the traditional motifs of stars, peacocks, aeroplanes and kites used in the traditional craft of katab have evolved over time. During the elective, students learnt the traditional skills of folding, cutting and stitching the cloth and were also challenged to source sustainable materials and carefully consider their application of colour to create a portfolio of textile explorations leading to their eventual focussed theme.

“I’ve really enjoyed the workshop, particularly as it was an opportunity to learn new designs, such as tube light, which I had no previous knowledge of. This workshop has been different to those I have done previously as I got to upcycle and re-use waste fabrics which isn’t something I get to do when I’m working for clients. Usually all the work I get is prescribed to me, but in this workshop I’ve been free to experiment and express myself; working creatively like this is much better than having to work to a prescribed format but I need to do this to sustain a lively hood for myself. Moving forward it would be good to use the work we make to turn into marketable goods such as bags; I’ve previously worked with a footwear designer so I could also use this experience to make products.”

Shantiben

“It was great to be part of the workshop, I really enjoyed working with the waste fabrics together as a group. When I work at home there are many distractions which can divert me from my work, but working like this makes my productivity better. Working in the group also gave me a lot more confidence in my own abilities and reassurance that the work I am making is good and to the best of my abilities. I’ve loved being able to concentrate on practicing my craft and inventing fresh new designs. I’m very keen to be involved in the future workshops as I feel there is more strength in the project if there are further workshops and we keep the momentum of the project alive. I would be interested to engage in more workshops.”

Miraben

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first workshop experience, especially as working in a group has brought back many fond memories of working with my Mother and the work we did together. I made Emma and LOkesh both an appliquéd fan which was a motivation of this workshop as I’ve only ever made fans in embroidery before, but the workshop has really increased my confidence to experiment making new products using applique. Seeing me actively working again my granddaughter has shown an interest in learning my skills so I’ll be teaching her, and any of her friends who want to learn, during the school breaks.”

Kuverben

“I’ve enjoyed being part of the workshop, particularly because it has given me an opportunity to exercise my mind and expanded my thinking by working with different people. Having the group’s influence on my work has helped me to open my imagination and develop new designs which is something I’m never asked to do by clients. I’m very keen to be included in future workshops as it is an opportunity to develop my ideas further which will all influence my future work. Something I particularly enjoyed was the opportunity to draw again; when I was young I would always draw in my school book. I was very fond of drawing but life’s pressures got in the way and I stopped drawing. When I was asked to draw again I remembered recently throwing away my drawing book which was something I suddenly regretted as it would have been good to share my work with the others. It’s something I’d like to start doing again if I can find the time.”

Jamnaben

“My experience during the workshop has been great, I’ve enjoyed working with new people and I got to use old fabric to make new things. As well as this I’ve been well paid for my skills which is always a bonus. At the beginning of the workshop when we used paper and drew, this was the first time I had used either of these materials which helped to bring me out of my comfort zone.”

“If LOkesh or Emma can create further opportunities to do workshops and collaborations with new contacts I, and I’m sure the rest of the group, would very much welcome them. Having previously worked with students at the National Institute of Fashion Technology and the National Institute of Design, I always learn something new and am usually exposed to new materials; something I see as a great advantage. The work I do for other companies is about sustaining a livelihood for my family and it’s an important thing for the rest of the community too.”

Deviben

“The best thing about this workshop is that we are all equal parts within the project and the act of working together brings us closer as a community and helps us to learn new skills and techniques from one another; something I’ve really enjoyed. When I work at the NGO, I only get to teach others how to make blouses and dresses and never have the opportunity to develop my own practice, something this workshop has given me the opportunity to do. I’ve particularly enjoyed working in my own traditional heritage craft, something I take a great pride in. I’ve been paid well during the workshop which makes a huge difference to my self-esteem as a maker and helps me feel much more appreciated as a skilled craftsperson. I hope the workshops can continue as I’d like to do something new and challenge myself in the next workshop.”

“Maybe going forward we could think about the workshops having a theme and eventually teach and involve other participants. It would also be good to change the host venue of the workshop to reflect the people who are involved and where they come from. These workshops feel important because we take so much pride in our traditional craft which is such a large part of our heritage. Its presence in the market also gives us a lot of confidence to keep working.”

Dahiben

“I’ve had a great time experimenting with my craft within the workshop. It has been an opportunity to work in a way that I’ve been unable to do for a long time as before the workshop I was just working on saris for various clients. I’ve been motivated to make something new in this workshop, something really refreshing that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. This is only the second time that I have been able to work with LOkesh and try something new and I’m really very keen to do more, as if I can get more work, I can put together more money for my children’s education. If the workshops were held at my home or nearby this would help me to attend as it will save on travel time and transport costs as my home is 17kms away from Vadj.”

The final day of the project was time to for the women to complete all of the samplers they had been working on and to label each one ready for accession into the dictionary of traditional designs. It was also time to reflect on the project and find out what they felt they had gained from the project and what their views were on any forthcoming workshops.

To complete the overall story of how the group created their quilts, LOkesh encouraged Premjibhai to show Emma the small local garment factories where they bought their waste fabric which had been used, as well as recycled garments, to make their quilts. Small spaces with just a few workers making garments for the local market, the spaces were a hive of activity and energetic making. Being so close to Diwali the current production was mainly of Diwali dresses that would typically be sold in the local market and the off cuts from which would likely make beautiful brightly coloured quilts and other applique designs.

Before finally closing the workshop, Premjibhai was requested to demonstrate the technique of cut work which involved accurately marking the fabric with diagonal cuts in various patterns as a reference for appliqué. To ensure all of the designs would be accurate, the pattern was drawn onto tracing paper in which small pin pricks were made. The paper was then placed onto the fabric and a solution of tailors chalk and water was dabbed over the paper transferring the pattern onto the fabric. From this transfer Premjibhai would measure the correct cutting tool to produce the cut needed and then layering several pieces of fabric underneath cut ten pieces of fabric at a time.

On the fourth day of making, LOkesh asked the women to start making samplers which did not use their traditional designs and colour combinations and instead used their own innovative fresh designs and patterns. It was interesting to see how the group approached this task given that usually any new or innovative pattern would be given to them by a client or design student who wanted their design to be turned into reality. To help develop ideas, Dahiben gave Jamnaben one of her son’s art books which had a series of drawings comprising of overlapping circles, squares and triangles which she started to carefully and methodically work out in fabric. Dahiben herself started to work on an alternative version of the tube-light motif, while Vishali had embraced the task by developing a completely new design.

Later than morning, LOkesh and Emma had the opportunity to learn more about those in the group who lived locally by visiting their homes. The first visit took them to Shantiben’s home just a short walk from where the project was based. Shantiben further demonstrated her skills by showing the numerous quilts and other household furnishings and decorations she had made using waste material and recycled garments in which she showed a real pride and dedication to her work.

LOkesh and Emma were then taken to visit Deviben’s house, where she lived with her Father and with her two sons. Premjibhai and Deviben being brother and sister were keen to show us their family photographs which were proudly displayed on the wall. Deviben had gone ahead to prepare for the visit, pulling out of cupboards her past history of quilts which demonstrated her working methods and intricate methods of cut work.

On the third day of the project the group continued making samplers for the dictionary of designs while conversation around the sewing circle was in full swing with the group acting as a team to ensure all of the traditional designs and motifs used within their craft would be represented by the samplers made.

It was interesting to listen to the groups stories and how they had all come to learn their craft. Most had been passed the skills from their mothers, who had taught them their craft at an early age apart from Shantiben who had only recently picked up the skills from a neighbour fifteen years earlier.

One particularly intriguing story was from the group’s newest member Miraben, who on reminiscing about how she had learnt the craft from her mother at a very young age explained how she had also helped her mother to make a specially commissioned and very detailed white on white sari for the famous Bollywood actress, Nargis Dutt (pictured above) who she also got to meet once the commissioned was completed.

It was also interesting to learn how the Jamnaben and her husband Premjibhai acted as agents, helping to bring in large bulk orders from clients such as Fab-India and equally distributed the work throughout the village helping the community to find sustainable work.

After a day’s break to allow time for reflection, the second day of the project was a chance for the group to continue making their traditional sampler designs and also saw the addition of a seventh member to the group, Jamnaben’s sister Miraben. It was interesting to see the group together in a sort of sewing circle out of which came numerous discussions of what samplers still needed to be made, who was to make the sampler and what colour combination should be used. Although the group were back working within their traditional media, it was obvious that their design ethic and consideration had been fully activated through the previous days tasks.

Later that day Premjibhai, Jamnaben’s husband, took Emma and LOkesh on a tour around another part of the community which was heavily involved in the production of shoes for the local markets. Something that made this visit so pertinent to the project was that numerous members of the group’s husbands worked within this small industrial space to earn the family’s livelihood through the trade. Winding through small cramped lanes, Premjibhai led LOkesh and Emma through the village stopping at various different parts of the production process and at workshops that worked with numerous different types of materials. A lot of the workshops who were involved in one part of the production process would usually pass their part completed products to family relations, working just a few doors down, to continue with the next stage of the process. The community was a small mass production process passed from family to family until the product was complete.

The day’s session of making continued into the afternoon with Emma and LOkesh making their own samplers under the expert supervision of the group. Later that afternoon, the group had visits from other members of the community’s pets, including Honey and Sweety the rabbits and a tortoise who lived just a few doors down from where the workshop was being held. The atmosphere was a relaxed and productive one, so much so that it seemed odd to think of any other way of this craft being produced.

The opening day of the project was a chance to meet the women who would be engaging in the workshop over the forthcoming week and to introduce them to the project and discuss its aims. As a way of doing this practically, a series of tasks were devised to help distract them from their usual routines of making and to sensitise them to alternative colour and pattern possibilities which could be adapted for use within their craft.

To start the day’s activities off, the women involved demonstrated their handicraft and skills by showing LOkesh, Emma and the rest of the group their past quilts and samples of previous work they had done for various clients. Some of the quilts were over 30 years old and had been made by their mothers for the family household, while others were new designs made from recycled clothing as additions to their own family’s household needs.

In preparation for the workshop Emma and LOkesh had devised a series of activities to help the group explore new colour and pattern possibilities away from their craft’s traditional designs. The first activity concentrated on colour interaction. Emma purchased some coloured handmade paper from the Kalamkush paper factory and had cut the paper into strips of various widths ready for the women to weave together in various combinations. All of the group’s members took a very different approach to the task than the one that had been considered and the product of the session was a multiplicity of designs and colour combinations stuck together with packing tape and glue. Numerous members reached for the uncut pieces of paper on which they stuck the strips to make new and unique patterns. The resulting designs all proof of the participant’s inner creativity and design consciousness waiting to be engaged with creative and innovative tasks.

For the second activity the group were invited to draw something from around the house that they found interesting or had a fondness of, but using no pencils or black pens, only coloured highlighters, pencils and felt-pens. At first the group seemed a little shy and with lots of giggling and awkward shuffling making it apparent how much this task was moving them away from their usual working practice. To ease them into the task, Emma began to draw which helped to alleviate the group’s anxiety and soon they were drawing numerous objects situated around the household. It was interesting to see how Visali drew so accurately with her ruler and pencil and how Jamnaben eventually admitted that this was the first time in her life that she had ever drawn while Kuverben was much more settled with the activity having been an avid drawer in her youth.

After taking them away from their traditional methods of working, the group returned to fabrics, cottons and needles. In order to reflect on their tradition, the group made samplers of the traditional designs they regularly used in their craft from which a ‘dictionary’ of designs could later be formed. Very quickly, small sampler squares of various different designs, including stars, kites and chocolates were appearing, the group constantly seeking approval of their work from both Emma and LOkesh. Most of the group didn’t use rulers to measure and instead used fingers to work out the sizes of the pieces of fabric they needed. Whether it was the presence of LOkesh and Emma or the previous assignments they had been faced with, there was a large amount of consideration of colour combinations and conferring between the group before they started work on their chosen design; something which demonstrated the supportive ethic of the group and the surrounding community.